


Once a Stray, always a Stray

by TheMarchBunnyMadness



Category: Warrior Cats - Fandom
Genre: Cats, F/M, Fluff, One-Sided Attraction, Warrior Cats, if you'll pardon the pun, possibly, sunning rocks, warriors - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-22 14:27:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4838636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMarchBunnyMadness/pseuds/TheMarchBunnyMadness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(featuring an old Warrior OC; Ashstone. Kind of working her in to the original cannon of series 1.)</p><p>She always knew Longtail didn't approve of cats with little to no heritage to ThunderClan, so why had she expected him to treat her differently? Apparently he'd even been rather ferocious with Firestar when he had joined the Clan. Her mother was Clan born. Sure, her father was a rogue but...he had little influence in raising her. Ashstone had met him twice; the first time, before her mother's death. The second...<br/>"He didn't run away, Longtail," defended Ashstone.<br/>"Oh really?" snapped Longtail. "Strays are nothing more than cowardly thieves; even if he joins a 'Clan', it doesn't make them like us. Once a stray, always a stray."<br/>Ashstone frowned. "Does that make me a cowardly thief, then?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once a Stray, always a Stray

**Author's Note:**

> Ashstone has been an OC of mine ever since I became a fan of Warriors. I haven't used her for a while, but I've now decided to revamp the character completely; giving her a new backstory and editing her (admittedly once bland) personality.  
> I may want to turn this to a series...I may not.  
> We'll see how it goes :)

(Set after the events of 'The Darkest Hour')

Golden specks of lights danced on the forest floor; against bronze leaves and twigs that jutted out between cool, smooth stones - misplaced from years of many animals wandering down this path. A breeze suddenly picked up, first sweeping through naked pine branches before finding it's way onto the two cats that walked below.

The first didn't seem all that bothered by the cold rush; in fact, he seemed rather use to it. As for his companion, she seemed far from impressed. She instantly half, her ink black fur bristling. The she-cat instinctively went into a crouch, trying to escape the frosty assault, shuddering as she did so. Her silver eyes looked up, watching her ally wander ahead, not realizing he'd left someone behind. "Longtail!"

Longtail halted abruptly, turned, and shot a fierce green gaze back at her. "What now?"

"It's freezing," she grumbled.

Longtail rolled his eyes, turning his body round more to face her; "It's been freezing all morning, Ashstone." His eyes rolled upwards, peering through the gaps of silver branches. "That's just leaf-bare for you."

Ashstone let out a loud huff, then slowly straightened out her legs, her fur beginning to flatten as the breeze died down.  _I'd rather be in camp sleeping the cold away,_ she thought, as she bounded forward, catching up to the striped cat. Once the duo had begun to walk again, Ashstone asked, "Where are we even going?!"

Longtail frowned at her. "For StarClan's sake, don't you ever listen?"

"In all fairness," defended Ashstone. "I'd just been unceremoniously woken up by Cloudtail. So, I was still half asleep when Firestar was giving out orders...all I can remember is that we're looking out for BloodClan cats."

The battle with BloodClan had taken place many sunrises ago, though felt more like a distant nightmare than ancient history. So many things had happened - the deaths of two tyrants, Firestar's resurrection and the uniting of all four Clans - and yet, everyone was expected to just expected to return to normal. Even though no one had ever enforced such a thing, it felt like that's what everyone expected; _that we should all just move on._

And yet, here they were, keeping an eye out for any rogue or kittypet that still swore allegiance to Scourge. It was all rather ridiculous, if Ashstone was honest.

"Firestar wants us to check the Sunning Rocks for BloodClan cats," huffed out Longtail, not looking at the black she-cat.

"But...what about RiverClan?" asked Ashtone, frowning.

"What about them?" mumbled Longtail.

"Aren't the Sunning Rocks in their territory?" asked Ashstone, reaffirming her point.

Many, many moons ago, there was no dispute as to who owned what when it came to the Sunning Rocks. It had once been inside the bend in the river, so had been naturally cut off from ThunderClan. However, a flood changed all that; it distorted the land and changed the path of the river, putting the Sunning Rocks back into ThunderClan. And, not long after, it became property of ThunderClan. Despite this, RiverClan still maintained that it should be theirs, making things a little tense when it came to territory.

"Not since the river changed route," answered Longtail, looking back at Ashstone. "You afraid of RiverClan cats, Ashstone?"

" _No_ ," boomed back Ashstone, puffing out her white chest. "RiverClan should be afraid of two tough ThunderClan warriors coming there way, right?!"

Longtail didn't answer, he just kept on walking.

"Still," continued Ashstone. "I wouldn't want to disrupt the peace."

"What peace?" grumbled Longtail.

"Well, we haven't had much trouble from the other clans," Ashstone proudly boasted, as though she'd been responsible for such a thing. "No skirmishes, no disputes. If you don't consider that peace, then I don't know what is."

"It's mutual respect," grumbled Longtail. "Not peace. Give it a few more moons, then we'll be back to the usual way."

Ashstone let out a low sigh. "Don't be a pessimist, Longtail. For all you know, things could stay this way forever. Imagine that?"

"And hedgehogs will fly," grumbled Longtail.

After that, their conversation seemed to drift away and dull down. Likely due to the fact there was no use in reasoning with the tom. Ever since the BloodClan battle he'd seemed off. Well, no, everyone seemed off; but Ashstone noticed it more so in Longtail than anyone else. Of course, she knew why; Darkstripe was his mentor and friend to Longtail, as was Tigerstar.

But then Tigerstar became leader of ShadowClan, murdering many members of ThunderClan along the way, before making alliances with a psychopath. Meanwhile, Darkstripe attempted to murder a kit before running after the tabby tom cat and attempting to strike down ThunderClan's noble leader.

She could understand initial heartbreak from the whole situation but...the battle was so long ago. Had he moved on at all? Had he even begun to heal from it all?

 

The Sunning Rocks were a large smooth surface of rock, usually heated by the sun very quickly. It was a nice part of the territory; a great place to nap and an area where prey was plentiful. After Longtail and Ashstone's journey, the two unanimously agreed to take a rest; though through little words. More, Ashstone suggested the break and Longtail grunted in agreement.

Ashstone was pleased to find that the rocks had soaked in some of the morning sun's heat, the little there was. Despite the chilly surroundings, once she was curled up - paws underneath her body - she was quite pleased with the rest. She must've fallen asleep, as one minute Longtail was stood beside her and a heartbeat later he was walking towards her with two mice dangling from his jaws.

Ashstone let out a long, low yawn as Longtail dropped both mice in front of her. "Here," he grunted, sitting down in front of the prey.

"You didn't have to do that," Ashstone assured, a smile creeping across her face.

Longtail stared at her for a moment, then dryly smirked, "Well if you don't want it-"

"I never said that!" interjected Ashstone, half yelling.

Ashstone rose to her feet, stretching the sleep out of her muscles before tucking into the mouse below. "How did you even find one? let alone two?" asked Ashstone, between gulps.

Longtail shrugged. "It wasn't easy, if that's what your asking. Took me a while."

Ashstone paused to smile back at him. "Well, it's appreciated."

The two ate in an awkward silence, Ashstone still worrying about Longtails apparent 'moving on' issue. _But, he seems alright now..._ she thought, glancing up at him.

"What're you staring at?" Longtail boomed.

Ashstone's eye's widened as she sat up. "Staring, me? _Pfft_ , you must have bees in your brain."

"You've been staring at me this whole patrol, Ashstone," grumbled Longtail. "And I mean, when we're not even saying anything; you just watch me like I'm a fat shrew your about to strike down."

"W-Well..." fumbled Ashstone. "Maybe I'm just looking to you for guidance..."

Longtail frowned. " _Maybe?_ "

 _For the love of StarClan,_ thought Ashstone, her tail lashing in worry. _He probably thinks I'm in love with him or something..._ "...well," she began slowly. She readjusted herself, then began, "I'm...I'm worried, ok."

Longtail's already present frown deepened. "Worried? About what?"

"You," admitted Ashstone.

Longtail's frown snapped back, his ears heating up. "Me? Why're you worried about me?!"

"Look," Ashstone sighed. "Ever since the battle with BloodClan-" instantly she saw Longtail's fir bristle ever so slightly. "-you've been...out of it."

When Ashstone paused, Longtail didn't say anything.

So, she continued. "I know you were friends with Darkstripe and Tigerstar- good friends, really. And...I know it must've been hard to have to go against them, but-"

Longtail grumbled something under his breath, but it was little more than a mutter and one Ashstone couldn't really decipher.

"What was that?" she asked, leaning her ear toward him more.

"I said, I didn't turn against them," growled Longtail. "They broke the warrior code, they turned against their Clan- they turned against Star Clan!"

"My point is," sighed Ashstone. "Your not the only one who had to face off with someone you care about-"

"You mean your rogue father?!" snapped Longtail, clearly not worried about offending someone. "You never knew him, Ashtsone. There was no suffering on your part; no anguish. You didn't have to face him when he died,if he even died at all; probably fled a cowardly stray."

She always knew Longtail didn't approve of cats with little to no heritage to ThunderClan, so why had she expected him to treat her differently? Apparently he'd even been rather ferocious with Firestar when he had joined the Clan. Her mother was Clan born. Sure, her father was a rogue but...he had little influence in raising her. Ashstone had met him twice; the first time, before her mother's death. The second...

"He didn't run away, Longtail," defended Ashstone.

"Oh really?" snapped Longtail. "Strays are nothing more than cowardly thieves; even if he joins a 'Clan', it doesn't make them like us. Once a stray, always a stray."

Ashstone frowned. "Does that make me a cowardly thief, then?"

Longtail held her gaze for a moment, resisting the urge to just shout back 'half of one!'

"And I know for a fact he didn't run away," Ashstone spoke, calmly. "I saw him die." She paused for a moment, letting what she said sink in. "He tried to kill Blackstar, but Russetfur struck him down first. And your right, there was no hardship for me; not then, anyway." Ashstone paused once more, choosing her words carefully. "But my mother wanted me to know who he was because she wanted me to change him; she still cared for him and wanted to save him from the fate through me. The hardship of his death is not because I lose him, but because I failed her."

The two sat in silence for a good few seconds, neither one speaking to the other.

"Tigerstar and Darkstripe didn't think of you when they did what they did," Ashstone spoke, slowly. "They didn't think of any of us. Tigerstar thought of himself and Darkstripe...well, I suppose he just wanted to keep his friend happy. What happened to them was because of them; not you."

The silence returned far too quickly for Ashstone's liking. All Longtail did was stare at her for a moment, then return to eating the mouse before him.

 _Maybe I should've saved this talk for another day,_ thought Ashstone, before also eating her prey.

 

The walk home was a little tense, though Ashstone tried to convince her self it was because of the chill in their air, and not her and her companions previous talk.

Her pads crunched through the leaves, seeming louder than earlier this morning. After a while she picked up fresher clan scent markers.  _Thank StarClan,_ she thought.  _We've got to be close to camp now._

"Your right," mumbled Longtail.

Ashstone's head darted round, looking at the striped tom. "Huh?"

"There's no point mulling over what happened," admitted Longtail, his green eyes fixed to the floor. "It's over now."

Ashstone couldn't help but smile. "Yeah...all in the past, my friend."

It was then, Longtail looked over to her. "Your mother...she wouldn't be disappointed in you, Ashstone."

Ashstone's smile dimmed.

"I couldn't stop Tigerstar," explained Longtail. "And it wasn't my job to. Likewise, it wasn't your responsibility to change your father."

Ashstone stared at him a moment longer, when a voice called through the trees and made her jump. "They're back!" boomed Cloudtail, the fluffy white tom stood at the entrance of the camp.

Ashstone had stopped in surprise, Longtail still heading forward. "Come on," he began. "We weren't meant to be gone so long; this is probably how rumours begin."

"Oh...yeah," mumbled Ashstone, feeling her ears heat up.

Stumbling after him, she felt a fuzzy feeling in her stomach. It wasn't as painful as she thought, trying to get a seemingly serious cat to get over some of his worries. And, hey, it's always good to open up about your own troubles, right?

 

 

 

 

(Not very good, I know; but this is my first publish fanfic -_-'')

 


End file.
